I have this coworker who I think is one of those people intrigued by the whole "plant-based" thing and knows I am vegan, but I don't think she's ever considered that a lot of people are vegan for animal rights reasons. the other day she starts talking to me about trying to eat more plant-based and then is like "Why do so many vegetarians eat so many grains, and not enough vegetables? They are missing all the healthy benefits" or some such thing, and I was like, "Well, a lot of people are vegetarian/vegan for animals so..."

I didn't really know what to say, I mean yeah veggies are healthy, but I'm not going around tracking how many veggies people eat or anything. And grains aren't bad for you anyway so, what?

That's so funny. Vegans, band together! We are the Special Elite Vegetable Enforcement Squad

Having to pay with a Starbucks card to get free soymilk. What the hell is that about, honestly? I guess we will know we have gained true equality when there's a self-serve carafe of soymilk sitting next to the dairy milk and cream. Maybe someday?

Forking half and half is free at Starbucks, and it's more expensive than soymilk! Come on!!

Well, to be fair, many indie coffee shops just put a carafe of soy milk right out on the mixing station with the other dairy crepe. Starbucks is THE MAN.

That isn't my experience. I've walked out and refused to pay for my coffee because an indie coffee place wanted $1 for a splash of soy. Its nice though that they are so vegan friendly where you are!

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:03 pmPosts: 5709Location: The State Of No R's

Limone wrote:

Mr. Shankly wrote:

Quarantined wrote:

And grains aren't bad for you anyway so, what?

There's a portion of plant-based and/or raw foodists who believe that people shouldn't be eating grains because they're bad for us.

Right, or people who are avoiding carbs. I'm not trying to diss low-carb diets because I really don't know anything about them, but the point is more that in all the jumble of marketing hype regurgitated by people who also don't know anything about nutrition, vegan = healthy, healthy = low cal/weight loss, weight loss = low carb, low carb = avoid certain grains, grains = bad, eating grains = bad bad vegan not healthy!.

But beyond that, there's a group of people that believe we're not meant to eat/digest grains. That because of evolution, our bodies aren't able to digest grains properly and that we're harming our bodies by eating it.

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:03 pmPosts: 5709Location: The State Of No R's

Limone wrote:

Well, to be fair, many indie coffee shops just put a carafe of soy milk right out on the mixing station with the other dairy crepe. Starbucks is THE MAN.

Yeah, that's what it's like in nearly every indie cafe I've been to as well.

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

OK. So. With all of the stupid, annoying comments we seem to provoke, just by quietly going about eating the way we do, maybe we need a set of awesome and snarky comeback lines. There are lots already in this thread. What about this: Next time someone says: "Vegan. Really? So what do you eat?" We say "Same stuff you eat. I just get it before it passes through the intestines of an animal first."

A relative had made some vegetable soup and I politely asked if it had chicken stock in it. The response was "oh yes, but a little bit won't hurt you".

I dislike it when people bring up my choices/way of life/parenting decisions as a conversational topic. You know, where you are asked a question but because the person has already formed their opinion (usually an ignorant one), their question is more a loaded statement? And they're asking something that isn't really any of their business? And you know that no matter how you answer, they don't really want to hear?

I've been told I don't look like "a vegan" and that I don't look like a homeschooling mother. You see, vegans are supposed to be waifs with dreadlocks and the odd tattoo. Homeschoolers are either the same, or very-obviously-religious in their appearance. Ohhhkayyy... When my sister told her brother in law that I homeschool he asked "is she a hippie or a religion freak?" Umm, neither. When she tells people I'm vegan she gets the "is she a hippy" or "but where does she get her protein from?"

Oh, and I don't like it when veganism is brought up and someone starts talking about their brother's ex gf who was vegan and always sick and skinny and then her hair and teeth fell out.

My way of stopping the vegan debate is "go and google vegan bodybuilding. I weight train and those guys and girls have no problem with getting protein and neither do I!"

When I say I'm a homeschooler or vegan, lots of people take it personally. As in, they instantly get their back up, as if I'm judging their decisions to send their kids to school, or eat meat. I don't care what they do!

That's so funny. Vegans, band together! We are the Special Elite Vegetable Enforcement Squad

Vegetable Enforcement Gang... And Nachos

The Man from V.E.G.A.N.

_________________"If I were M. de la Viandeviande, I would now write a thirteen page post about how you have to have free will to be vegan, but modern science does not suggest any evidence for free will, therefore it is impossible to be vegan." -mumbles

I get the "You don't LOOK vegan!" thing a lot. What they're really saying is they thought all vegans were skinny and undernourished and I'm...not that. So, double win! Stereotyping and body judging!

_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface

Not being able to order a pizza or take out after working a 10+ hour day.

Plus the whole soy milk being extra money at coffee shops thing. We have a mix of places, some have it out just like creamer and reg milk, and some charge extra for it. When I order my Venti Iced Coffee at Sbux in the morning I ask for it with room, pay, and then when they hand it to me I ask for soy milk. Cause fork that, I'm not paying extra for something that should be free and I don't want to have to load money on a special card just to get it free. If I order a latte I understand that they are going to charge me. But for regular coffee, no I want free soy milk and I'm going to get it one way or another!

I'm a bit sympathetic to the vegan upcharge for soy milk or vegan cheese. I've known restaurants that added Daiya to their menu, but eventually dropped it because they were losing money on each order, even with the extra charge. Restaurants can have really tiny margins, and soy milk costs twice as much as dairy milk.

My boyfriend's office always goes to or has Olive Garden cater their lunches. My boyfriend is asked each time if there is anything he can eat - he says no, so he stays behind. They have picked a restaurant he could it once. They even tried getting him vegan soft serve but it had dairy and the other connecting office started gossiping about the 'vegan guy'...I do not like when a friendly work environment gets hostile due to one's food choices.

I do not like when people say "oooohhhh vegan - that is a good diet!"...It is not a forking diet - it is my way of life.

On a personal rant - why does everything must contain quinoa now???? I am super allergic to it and find it listed in everything. :( Food allergies = pet peeve!

My boyfriend's office always goes to or has Olive Garden cater their lunches. My boyfriend is asked each time if there is anything he can eat - he says no, so he stays behind. They have picked a restaurant he could it once. They even tried getting him vegan soft serve but it had dairy and the other connecting office started gossiping about the 'vegan guy'...I do not like when a friendly work environment gets hostile due to one's food choices.

My office is nice about me being vegan, but my boss always wants to order food in or go out as a group. And I'm always like, hey it's really hard for me and I don't want to make everyone eat at a veggie based place. So can we stop making our gatherings food related! She doesn't get it or seem to retain what I've told her. I am lucky to be in a city that has a ton of vegan options. But she always wants to go to Bucca Di Beppe or something which means the only option for me is the side salad. Great, thanks! I love watching everyone grub on delicious food while I'm over here with my iceberg lettuce.

My old boss was like that. I put it down to her being a complete space cadet rather than anything more sinister. It was hard to talk to her sometimes when you knew that she wouldn't remember anything because she was mentally off dancing on rooftops with chimney sweeps. She's actually my neighbour now, which is pretty fun!

_________________Moon - "This is the best recipe in the history of recipes forever."

People who have never cooked for me before telling me to bring my own food. I'm not a forking five year old on a field trip, I know you're not going to provide food for me. I'm a big girl and can decide how and when to feed myself.

My boss gives lip service to being vegan-friendly for catered events, but doesn't seem to grasp that vegan is different than ovo-lacto and always ends up using the same caterer who clearly doesn't get it either. So when there are sign-up lists for things like our yearly BBQ or the Christmas party, she really wants you to indicate if you have a preference like vegan, but then there's never any vegan option. When we do inventory once a year, the supposed "vegan" choices are always things like cucumber salad sandwiches drenched in mayo, and for our 40th Anniversary party they had things labelled "veg hot dogs" and "veg chili", neither of which I trusted (and my friend's bf who is also a caterer and gets the vegan thing said he recognized all the food from a local wholesaler and indeed, none of it was vegan). I usually end up drinking copiously and grazing through the olives on all the tables. These events are usually right after my shift, so I never have time to go grab a falafel or something before they start. I was smart enough to bring a Clif bar to the Christmas party, but wasn't as well-prepared for the anniversary party. I actually offered that if the caterer had questions about vegan food, he was welcome to get in touch with me, but I never heard anything. I'm declining to go to the upcoming BBQ this year. (I'm heading down to Belgium that evening anyway, so that works out.)

I also get the up-and-down look and "you don't LOOK vegan" from people when they hear about it. I usually counter that I'm proof that you can eat quite well on a vegan diet. (Shuts them up on both the veganism and the body shaming.)

I get bugged when people apologize for ordering a meat dish in front of me. I don't care what you eat. My dad has started doing this since I went vegan. The weird thing is he never did this when I was ovo-lacto, which I don't get. I didn't eat meat then. What's different now?

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

I am not aware of having to buy 5 drinks before getting the free soy. I got it free right away when using their card (a regular card...they sent me the gold one but I did not register it yet).

You know who has carafes of not only soy, but also almond milk? Whole Foods, by their coffee stations.

That is so freaking weird. I was definitely told that you have to buy five drinks to get the free soy! I only got a card within the last year so maybe that's a new thing or something. Or the employee who gave it to me was high.

Oh, Whole Foods. Their prices on some groceries are crazy, but as a vegan cafeteria it really does hit the spot.

GraciaKai wrote:

Plus the whole soy milk being extra money at coffee shops thing. We have a mix of places, some have it out just like creamer and reg milk, and some charge extra for it. When I order my Venti Iced Coffee at Sbux in the morning I ask for it with room, pay, and then when they hand it to me I ask for soy milk. Cause fork that, I'm not paying extra for something that should be free and I don't want to have to load money on a special card just to get it free. If I order a latte I understand that they are going to charge me. But for regular coffee, no I want free soy milk and I'm going to get it one way or another!

Damn the Man, Save the Empire!

Yep, same thing here. I would say Brooklyn is more vegan-friendly than many places, but there are still cafes out there that don't put out the carafe-o-soy, charge extra, or don't even have it at all. These are all independent businesses though, so the fact they have different "rules" about soy milk doesn't faze me much. Hah, I like your system for getting soy milk at Starbucks! Do they usually just hand it over or do they sometimes give you shiitake about it?

mollyjade wrote:

I'm a bit sympathetic to the vegan upcharge for soy milk or vegan cheese. I've known restaurants that added Daiya to their menu, but eventually dropped it because they were losing money on each order, even with the extra charge. Restaurants can have really tiny margins, and soy milk costs twice as much as dairy milk.

This is a good point. It's sad when that happens though... this all-vegetarian restaurant I used to go to eventually added a bazillion meat dishes to their menu because they weren't making enough money, which made me sad. Depends on the clientele in your location, I guess. But I don't think Starbucks is going to go out of business by offering a free splash of soy to anyone who asks for it.

I've read that Starbucks bought its own branded source for soymilk, so its even cheaper for the chain than dairy (which has to be bought from outside vendors). If they charge extra, its more because the market can bear it than that there is actually a higher cost.

But someone here explained that the reason our local pancake house may charge more for vegan pancakes and waffles is that they have to make them in smaller batches (and prob not from a mix) so there is an associated labor charge. It is interesting to see how intricate restaurant pricing is and what thin margins people are working with.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

So can we stop making our gatherings food related! She doesn't get it or seem to retain what I've told her. I am lucky to be in a city that has a ton of vegan options. But she always wants to go to Bucca Di Beppe or something which means the only option for me is the side salad. Great, thanks! I love watching everyone grub on delicious food while I'm over here with my iceberg lettuce.

Ya - they always mention salad to him, he has said he is not into plain salad. The one time they went to the restaurant that had options for him his coworkers seemed not to like it....It is our fave local place - a Thai food place that can do vegan and even gluten free. One coworker wanted to know if they served sushi?!? His new team leader seems nicer. She brought him bubmle bars when it was doughnut day and when it was his birthday month she went to the local gourmet store that often has vegan baked goods and got him a vegan cookie and a scone. I just think that they should give him $10 when they go out to eat on company money or a g/c to StarBucks* because he stays behind with his sack lunch.

lepelaar wrote:

My boss gives lip service to being vegan-friendly for catered events, but doesn't seem to grasp that vegan is different than ovo-lacto and always ends up using the same caterer who clearly doesn't get it either.

I think this used to be a problem for my boyfriend as well, there is a vegetarian in his group who just eats random crepe as long as their is no meat in it...They think his diet is the same, um no.

They have a candy jar on his team that is constantly being filled up, he thinks there should be some almonds or Luna bars in there (he is the only male on the team)...He said all they do is drink soda and eat junk food. We are not super examples of 'plant eating' we are not really salad people but we realize that candy all day is bad. He tried bringing vegan cookies to work - you would think I sent him to work with a plate of bugs or something!

My old boss was like that. I put it down to her being a complete space cadet rather than anything more sinister. It was hard to talk to her sometimes when you knew that she wouldn't remember anything because she was mentally off dancing on rooftops with chimney sweeps. She's actually my neighbour now, which is pretty fun!

I would think we were talking about the same person if you didn't live in a different part of the world than I do!

Limone wrote:

Hah, I like your system for getting soy milk at Starbucks! Do they usually just hand it over or do they sometimes give you shiitake about it?

No, but they all know me by now. So I don't even have to ask anymore. Honestly, I don't even have to order. I walk in, stand in line, "Hey Gracia, the normal?", "Yup!", then they yell out Soy at the Bar and I'm good to go. But I've done this at several different Sbux and never have an issue.